The red star
by mustacheguri
Summary: Sakura Haruno always sees Itachi Uchiha. He rides the same train as her. She notices that he always sits in the same seat, holding the same book, opened at the same page. His hands never try to turn to the next page.


A/N: I was reading a manga and I couldn't help but picture how it would fit so wonderfully with Ita/Saku and so this happened. Review, follow, and favorite!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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* * *

I glance at the boy sitting in the seat across of me. He is beautiful boy, with his tall, enviable build; raven dark hair and unreadable onyx eyes.

He is always sitting there. At the same time, same train, same cabin, and same seat. And he always reads the same book. His hands never try to turn to the next page.

He is Itachi Uchiha and is a year older than me and he goes to the same school as me. I hear that he is a quiet and stoic person that likes to read. I, Sakura Haruno, am a person who watches him on the train and doesn't socialize much.

* * *

The train came to a jerky stop and Itachi stood up, beginning his exit. Emerald eyes widened as Sakura watched the book fall carelessly to the ground, lying in the train carriage as he continued walking away. Sakura quickly picked the abandoned book up, and she nervously stepped out of the train.

She fumbled with the book nervously, before catching the older boy by his sleeve, and she blurted, "…Um… Itachi-san! You dropped your book!"

Itachi blinked at the volume of her voice. She'd quite literally shouted even though he was standing right in front of her.

He stared at the girl silently, before sighing, "…You're too loud."

She flushed, "It's just how I am…sorry."

"Anyway, how do you know my name?"

Sakura smiled cheerfully, "We go to the same school! I'm Sakura Haruno and I'm your junior," she held out the book with a pale hand, "This book, it's yours right?"

She watched the boy look down at her hands for a long moment, before he turned away, "I'll give it to you."

The pink haired girl lifted an elegant brow in confusion, "But you were in the middle of it, weren't you?"

"It's fine. I'm not going to read it anymore…" He gave her a nearly imperceptible smile, "So I'll give it to you."

Sakura watched the back of the dark haired male and held the book close to her chest.

* * *

"That was the best game of volleyball we've had in a long time, wasn't it!" Sakura grinned widely at her best friend, Ino.

The blonde passed her a bottle of water, and shook her head, "Energetic as ever, Sakura!" Ino took a while to realize that Sakura wasn't taking the bottle from her hands and she looked up from her phone, only to see Sakura staring intently at a book.

Ino snorted, "I didn't know you read, Sakura."

The pink-haired girl grabbed the bottle and took a moment to drink from it, "How rude! I read books too, okay."

Ino rolled her eyes and went back to her phone. Sakura smiled to herself. Of course she would read it, she got it from Itachi, after all.

_It was a story named 'The Red Star'. The story unfolds as a young boy embarks on a fantastic adventure. The main character promises his sick little sister that he would go get the shiniest red star in the whole night sky to make her happy. _

Ino threw her towel at the pink haired girl, annoyed, "Sakura! Why are you reading it out loud, idiot?"

Sakura blinked, and then deadpanned, "If I don't read it out loud, I'll end up falling asleep."

Ino flicked the girl on her forehead, "Why are you forcing yourself then? If you don't like to read, then don't!"

Sakura didn't reply. She was forcing herself to read it, because she wanted to get closer to Itachi-san. She wanted to know more about the quiet boy who sat on the same train to school with her everyday.

* * *

Sakura thrusted the book into the taller boy's face, "Itachi-san! I've read the book!" She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, "Only twenty pages, though!"

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the girl, "Are you yesterday's…?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes! I'm Sakura," she sat down in the empty seat across of him. There was no one else in the carriage but them. They were quiet for a moment, before Sakura notified him, "I'm reading it little by little."

He did not respond.

_Everyone was against the boy going to look for the red star. His acquaintance, an astronomer, told the boy, "That star's light is from a long time ago. Even though you can see it, that doesn't mean that it still exists there right now." _

"_That's not true!" the boy said, and continued sailing towards space in that small little boat._

* * *

Sakura was bewildered by what the astronomer said. The next day, when she saw Itachi on the train, she immediately questioned him.

"What does this mean?" She stared at him with earnest green eyes. He simply looked back at her. So she persisted on, "What does it mean, that the star's light the boy is seeing now is from many years ago?"

Itachi could feel a headache coming on. How did he get involved with this overly energetic girl? She was too curious for her own good.

"If you don't get it, just stop reading."

Sakura's eyes widened, "No!" She looked horrified at his suggestion, and declared, "I want to know what happens to the main character, because I support him! I love it when he kept believing in himself, even though everyone around was against him."

She leaned back in her seat, "People who don't give up on their dreams…." Sakura smiled widely at the raven-haired boy sitting across her, "Are pretty cool."

"…You're really positive, aren't you?"

Sakura thought Itachi looked a little sad when he said that – his face was twisted into something of a grimace. She kept silent for the rest of the journey.

* * *

Sakura spoke to him every day on the train. She talked about the book, and told him about the most random things, like how she learnt how to make a chocolate cake in cooking class, and how her sister had a swimming competition coming up soon. He never answered back or tried to start a conversation.

She didn't know if he listened or not, but it was okay.

Sakura touched the bookmark gently. She had not returned it to him yet. It had been in the book when he gave it to her, and she wondered if he had forgotten that there was a bookmark in there.

"I'll let you have that too."

Sakura bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet, "Really?!"

He winced at her loudness and nodded.

She seemed content for a few moments, but she came to a complete halt, and regarded the bookmark seriously, "Oh, but… you're going to need it for when you read books."

There was a pause, and Itachi closed his eyes, "It's alright."

Sakura held the bookmark up, and watched as the sunlight reflected off the pretty beads hanging from it. It was really cute. She liked it.

Sakura slipped the bookmark into her bag, and pressed her forehead against the window behind her and stared out at the scenery that passed the moving train. It was warm. The sunlight was wonderful.

"Itachi-san?"

"Hm."

"Why don't you come over to this side? There's no sun on that side. It feels really nice here. It smells like sunshine."

Itachi was confused. How could sunshine be smelt? How did sunlight smell like? The girl was a strange one. He did not say a word.

Sakura simply shut her eyes and took in the warmth that filtered through the glass.

The train came to a stop and she stood up, and as she did everyday, she waved to him, "I'll be on my way then."

Itachi stood up abruptly, coming between her and the door. He lifted a lock of her hair to his nose, and patted her head, as she stood frozen, "It's true. It smells like the sun."

Sakura blinked.

They parted ways and Sakura's heart thumped a million miles an hour in her chest like a jackhammer.

* * *

Sakura propped her chin up with her palm.

It was interesting. This was the first time she ever thought a lesson was worth listening to.

The woman standing in front of the blackboard was speaking, pointing to the diagrams drawn in chalk, "A light year is the distance that light will travel in one year. For example, light from a star that is 10 light years away will take 10 years to reach the earth. Meaning, the light from the stars that we see now is from a long time ago."

A smile lifted the corners of her lips. She would tell Itachi about this the next time she saw him.

During lunch, Sakura spotted Itachi walking past her class, and she'd excitedly gotten out of her seat, running over. She could tell him about the stars now, instead of waiting until the next day.

"Ita-" The words caught in her throat and she fought the strange sadness that rose up in her chest.

He had already walked past her, brushing by as if she wasn't there.

Ah. He never looks at me.

She clasped her hands together, and went back to her seat.

When she gets off the train, his friends and brother are always there – the blue-eyed male with a loud voice and the boy who looked like him, but younger.

There is no space for her in his life.

The 10-minute ride is the only thing that connects the both of them.

* * *

Sakura shut the book that lay in her lap, "Say, Itachi-san. I wonder where the boy is right now. Even if I continue to read, it only hurts to know that the main character is suffering."

"I want him to get there to the star, already." She could feel the warmth of the sun shining on her neck through the window behind her.

Sakura was startled when Itachi responded.

"Why don't you stop reading?" Pause. "Like I did."

Ah, yes. Itachi was still reading the book when he gave it to her.

She stood up determinedly, strode over and held the book to him, "I'm returning it."

He turned away, "I don't want it."

"Why? Why are you giving up? You were the one who taught me not to give up," Sakura argued.

It was one year ago. Sakura Haruno had been sat in the empty gym room, crying her heart out, wailing. She'd never been one to suppress her tears or try to cry in secret. She always let out her emotions as they were. They'd lost the volleyball tournament because of her. She had failed the team.

Then she heard him. She heard Itachi Uchiha's voice, smooth and a rolling baritone; "I can hear you all the way over there. It's too loud and I can't read."

He'd been standing at the entrance of the gym, leaning against the door, watching her with amused eyes, "If you stay there, your heart is going to grow mold and sprouting mushrooms."

From then, Sakura had started to like him.

* * *

Sakura looked at the boy and continued, "Honestly, I don't like printed text, I even wonder what's so interesting about them. But now, I can see that lots of scenes form with every letter. I can even pay attention to the Earth Science class I used to hate before."

"Because of you, I learnt that the more you widen your world, the more enjoyable it will become. So, thank you." Sakura's eyes shone with the feelings that she tried so hard to convey.

Itachi reached his hand out slowly, for the book.

She did not know how much those hands had already given up. And how much courage Itachi had to gather to reach out his hand once again.

The book fell to the floor, in the space between them.

Itachi watched as Sakura picked it up and placed it firmly in his hands, and he spoke lightly, "I apologize. These eyes have forgotten the feeling of 'distance'. I could not tell how far it was from me."

She blinked at him, with wide green eyes.

"Didn't you notice? A time will come when I cannot see anything anymore. Right now, I can only tell things by their figures."

He looked up at her and Sakura saw his dark onyx eyes that looked to her like precious jewels, "I can't… read books anymore. I cannot even see your face."

Sakura stared at him. There was hope, right? They could probably find a cure. He could still see, even if only a little.

It seemed that he read her mind, and he shook his head gently, speaking in a genial tone,"It's alright. I have nice parents, and good friends. I have a happy life. So it's fine."

She thought about the friends who waited for him outside the train everyday, and how they were probably the ones to guide him around. He did have nice friends.

* * *

_The boy kept rowing, even though his arms grew weary and sweat beaded on his forehead. Just going straight, eyes on the star. The long time and the long way drove him to loneliness, but he kept rowing for the promise he made to his little sister. _

_But by the time he reached the supposed place, there was no star. _

This is the bookmarked page. The story had stopped there for Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi-san…In your world, that has stopped… is there no sound of the whisper of the new flowers? Can you not smell the sunlight? Can you not feel the summer breeze?

Is there no light at all?

Any…hope?

Sakura turned her head as she discreetly hid the tears that pooled in the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

Itachi walked the dark night, looking for the light that shone from a long time ago. He said that it was fine. Tears would not stop falling and Sakura wiped at her cheeks in frustration. Of course it's not fine.

The one, who taught her that the world was full of light, was him.

* * *

Itachi stepped into the train. She wasn't there. The girl hadn't been on the train yesterday, either. Why didn't she come here anymore? Had he scared her away?

A glittering spark caught even his clouded eyes and he moved closer for a better look. His bookmark, with its beautiful beads lay on the seat that she usually sat at, and it glinted and reflected the light of the sun. He picked it up and his fingers trembled at the cool, metallic weight that rested in his palm. It comforted him in an odd way.

* * *

_He shouldn't have gone for the star. He was shocked. The boy became like the star that had long become a rock, because it stopped shining brilliantly in the darkness. _

The train door opened with a soft hiss and Sakura heard his voice, slow and calm. "Your voice is too loud."

She looked up with a bright smile, and Itachi stood there, watching her from the door. "I need to read like this, or else I can't concentrate and move on," she paused for a moment, "I tried to stop reading it…"

Sakura's smile grew wider, "But I didn't really want everything to end there."

Itachi made a noise of acknowledgement at her words, and stood beside the pole in the middle of the train, directly in front of her. He looked down at the sitting girl from where he stood.

His cold, impassive eyes just stared. But at least, he finally looked at her.

_How long did the boy stay there? The boy, along with his boat, drifted behind the rock, and stayed in the shadow. But then he felt something and opened his eyes. His eyes, the ones that had been closed for a long time. _

_There was a small star shining right in front of him. He didn't know that light could bend. He had only rowed straight ahead continuously. And he hadn't notice that little by little, he had lost his way. The boy stretched his arms and felt the texture of the star. He yelled from where he stood._

"_Dear sister, can you see this light, that shines through the darkness?" _

"_Can you see it?" _

Sakura shut the book gently, and once again, tears fell from her eyes without her permission.

Itachi touched her cheek gently, and lifted her face up to look at his. He wiped her tears with care. Sakura flushed in embarrassment, "Heh, I cried."

"It's such a beautiful story and I feel a bit lonely that it has to come to an end."

The raven-haired boy gazed at the girl that he could only see clearly now. He could see her clear emerald orbs, her silky pink hair and her pretty lips. He could see that she was more than just a loud girl. She was the kind of person that was able to cry for others.

Sakura Haruno was the kind of person that could cry for even the likes of Itachi Uchiha. He, who had never bothered to respond to her words, and he, who had never taken a second glance at her.

He smirked, and leaned down closer, "Yeah, you're right. What will I make you read for me tomorrow?" Sakura didn't know how much she wanted it until his warm lips pressed against her cheek.

Itachi moved back and Sakura stared at him with wide eyes.

The time will come, that Itachi will completely be unable to see the light. But still, she wanted to stay by his side. So that he wouldn't have to grieve alone.

She slid her small hand into his and his warmth enveloped her.

_Let's wish, at least… that the last bit of the world you'll see, will be full of light._

-END-


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